I have certainly been there and I am sure most of you have too.
However, it is in those moments that we can show our real strength and
our determination for success. Those moments distinguish the winners
from those who will never make it big.
What is it then that we can do to stay motivated when everything seems to be turning against us?
- The Mindset
Mindset is everything. I am not the first one to tell you this and I won’t be the
last, but the transformation I have experienced in the last months by
simply changing my mindset is incredible.
If you stop acting from a mindset of fear and start having trust in
the world and in yourself, your entire outlook on life will change. You
will feel happier, more balanced, more confident
and stronger, which will weave itself into your work and your
performance. By believing you will make it and by knowing that there is
room for your success in this world no matter the economy or the
circumstances, you will deliver your A game and you will be able to push
through those moments of doubt and fear.
- The People
The people you surround yourself with are crucial. Are they tearing you
down? Are they trying to keep you small? Are they affecting your mood in
negative ways? Are they limiting your thinking?
No matter how strong you are, no matter your confidence, when you
spend too much time with people who have a limited mindset, it will
affect you personally and ultimately hinder your performance.
However, if you seek people who share your vision or who have already
achieved success far beyond what your situation is right now, you will
automatically dream bigger and achieve more. These people will push you
to new heights of performance and they will be there to celebrate your
successes with you or keep you motivated when things are looking
anything but rosy.
The more confident and successful people you surround yourself with, the better your chances for major success.
- The Inspiration
Another huge factor in uplifting you is getting inspiration from all
kinds of sources. Read books, attend classes, listen to podcasts, find a
mastermind group or go to conferences. Inspiration is all around. You
just have to find it. No matter the graveness of your situation, no
matter your frustration, you can always find someone who has been where
you are, but didn’t give up and ended up immensely successful.
By feeding your brain this positive and encouraging information, your
thoughts will transform themselves and act as a catalyst for
reinforcing you that you can always turn your business around. At the
same time, you can learn from these people and find new ways of thinking
and approaching whatever it is you’re doing.
- The Goals
When I started my recovery from anorexia after 14 years of struggle, I
had many days and weeks of depression, anxiety and complete loss of
identity. But I had a goal in mind: I wanted to live. So I pushed
through. I ate, not wanting to. I fought against the urge to
overexercise. I stopped abusing laxatives. I gained weight, loathing
myself, but I did not give up. I knew my goal and I went after it, no
matter the measures of discomfort I experienced.
The same is true for wanting to create a successful business and
life. You need to have a clear, tangible goal and action plans you can
implement. The more precise the goals the better. The more detailed the
action plans the more beneficial. I know it is tedious. I know most
people would rather spend their time in different ways. But when you
don’t know in which direction you want to go, you cannot expect to stay
motivated in rough times.
Knowing exactly what you want to achieve will help you along the way
and this is the safest way to always stay on track, remain motivated and
keep working hard.
- The Persistence
Sometimes you simply have to keep pushing through. Yes, bad times suck
and they can wear you down, but if you really want to achieve something,
you have to persist. By implementing my suggestions, you should believe
by now that change is possible, so staying on track should not be too
hard. However, if you still feel like giving up, simply don’t. Just keep
going. Take one step at a time, but never lose sight of your big goal.
Don’t be fooled. We all have setbacks. We all have times when nothing
seems to work and we seem to tread water.
Having the right, positive
mindset, surrounding yourself with encouraging people, keeping yourself
inspired and always knowing your goals will keep you on the right road
to major success.
Source: http://www.dumblittleman.com/2012/04/how-to-stay-motivated-when-worlds.html
Motivation is a psychological process that initiates, guides, and maintains goal-oriented behavior.
It begins with a particular goal in mind that we want to fulfill,
then follows with the actions needed to make that goal into a tangible
reality.
A goal can be anything we want to achieve: happiness, relationships, money, health, education, or whatever.
And whether we recognize it or not, we all have certain goals in
life, even if they aren’t things we would normally consider “goals.”
This is because every action has an intention behind it. We feel a
desire for something, then we take action to make it happen – even
something as simple as feeling thirsty and grabbing a glass of water is a
goal-oriented behavior.
This article gives you a mechanistic breakdown of how motivation works and things to keep in mind when pursuing long-term goals.
Overcoming inertia
An object at rest remains at rest unless acted upon by a force. This
is just as true for physics as it is for psychology and motivation.
Our lives often remain stagnant – with the same routines, habits, and patterns – unless we apply some force to make a change.
There are two main types of “force” that can change our daily patterns:
- Intrinsic force – Force that comes from enjoyment of an activity and exists within the individual rather than relying on external pressures.
- Extrinsic force – Force that comes from seeking a reward or avoiding punishment (common examples: money, grades, social pressure, etc.)
Both types of force can be very useful.
We can tap into intrinsic force by discovering our most important values and passions in life. Often it is easier to find motivation to do an activity if it resonates with you at a core level.
And we can use extrinsic force by changing our habit loops.
This means using external rewards to drive us toward new behaviors. For
example, you may reward yourself after going to the gym by giving
yourself an hour of freetime to watch your favorite TV shows.
You can really maximize your motivation by using both of these forces
– that means identifying what really matters to you, but also building a
system that gives you that extra push when your motivation may be
running low.
All you need is the smallest amount of force to get you started. Once
you overcome that initial inertia, you’ve taken a huge step forward.
Now you just need to keep walking.
Keeping momentum
Once an object is in motion, it will stay in motion unless another force acts upon it.
So motivation isn’t just about getting yourself moving, but keeping your momentum despite all the other forces or friction that may be slowing you down and holding you back from reaching your full potential.
On any path toward your goals, you’re going to face some drawbacks,
obstacles, and failures. This is the friction in your life that you’ll
need to work through if you really want to succeed.
Here are key things you can do to keep your momentum:
- Notice the daily victories. – Keep your motivation
high by paying attention to the small victories you have on a daily
basis. Progress toward your goals always happens one step at a time,
there’s no overnight success.
- Reframe obstacles as guidelines. – Many of the
obstacles in your life don’t have to be seen as friction, but
experiences that can be learned from to help improve yourself. Ask
yourself, “What can I learn from this?”
- Try new things and stay curious. – Always be
willing to try new things to keep your mind fresh and stimulated. If you
get too familiar with the same activities, then your motivation is
going to grow stale. Keep things interesting.
- Cultivate a long-term mindset. – Individuals who
master their motivation think about the effects of their actions far
into the future. They see the bigger picture, and they are in it for
long-term growth, not just short-term gain.
- Be patient and relax. – Motivation is just as much
about knowing when to take a step back as it is about knowing when to
take a leap forward. Sometimes to keep your momentum you need to give
yourself time to relax and rejuvenate.
A lot of motivation is just about keeping the right mindset. If
you’re someone who has a lot of trouble finding motivation in your
everyday life, you probably need to do some work on your attitude before
you can start seeing success.
Source:http://www.theemotionmachine.com/the-psychology-of-motivation-overcoming-inertia-and-keeping-momentum
